Jean Piaget 's Influence On Children 's Development

There are many different theories of development that help us to understand children’s behaviour, reactions and ways of learning. All equally important as they influence practice. To begin with there is Piaget’s constructivist theories which look at the way in which children seem to be able to make sense of their world as a result of their experiences and how they are active learners. He also suggested that as children develop so does their thinking. Piaget’s work has influenced early years settings into providing more hands on and relevant tasks for children and young people. In other words the children are ‘learning through play’. Teachers are working out the needs of children and plan activities accordingly.

All see it as an integral factor in supporting and promoting children's social and emotional development. Much recent research on play cite the work of Piaget, Vygotsky and Bruner. Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed through play children can discover the world, formulate opinions and impart some meaning to their ever-changing view of the world. Piaget argues play parallels development, while Vygotsky puts forward that play promotes development. Piaget (in O'Hara and Smith, 2004) believed that children were actively in control of their own learning, with their major task being that to develop an ability to organise their experiences and learn from them, thus enabling children to make sense of the world. Piaget's play theory reflects his focus on the intellectual development in children, concentrating on the child's construction of reality rather than on the social context of learning. Piaget perceived play as a method which children use to develop their cognitive abilities and to practise their emerging cultivated capabilities. He also saw play as a child's adaptation to the world around them through application of assimilation. Piaget claimed there are three stages in the development of play;

Two major theories explain on the importance of play in early childhood development, the Psychoanalytic theories and the constructivist theories. The constructivist view focuses on play as a mean for children to construct knowledge. Through play children can experience pleasant and unpleasant situations (Charlesworth, 2011). Vygotsky emphasizes on representational play. for Vygotsky, the fantasy play in early part of a child’s life is critical for their development (Charlesworth, R. 2011). Representational play and the help of adults can help children creates a Zones of Proximal Development (ZPD) where children can build on of their skills and develop new skills. Through play children can pretend to be whatever they want without fear of rejection, or punishment. Play is critical for children to develop and practice new language skills (Han, Moore, Vukelich, and Buell).

Piaget developed a workable theory that has had considerable implications for education, most notably for child-centred learning methods in nursery and infant schools. Piaget argued that young children think quite differently from adults so therefore the teacher should adapt the teaching methods to suit the child. For example, nursery school classrooms can provide children with play materials that encourage their learning. Using sets of toys that encourage the practice of sorting, grading and counting. Play areas, where children can develop role-taking skills through imaginative play. Materials like water, sand, bricks and crayons that help children make their own constructions and create symbolic representations of objects and people in their lives. A teacher’s role is to create the conditions in which learning may best take place.

While closely observing Zoe’s cognitive skills she showed evidence of Piaget’s preoperational stage. Zoe’s cognitive development is shown through her make-believe play. “Piaget believed that through pretending, young children practice and strengthen newly acquired representational schemes.” (Berk, 2007, P 227). When Zoe plays with her play dough she pretend that she is making pizza. She begins by taking a handful of play dough and placing it on the table, she then get a small rolling pin to roll the play dough out flat. Once the play dough is rolled out completely flat she uses little Lego’s to represent the pepperoni that tops most pizzas. Next she takes the finished pizza and puts it on the side of the table and

Children experiment with symbolic play so they can understand their social and physical environments and to develop their ideas. Theoretical opinions of the significance and importance of symbolic play differ. Piaget (1962) highlighted the assimilative value of play. He proposed that through symbolic play, children are able to make sense and meaning of experiences and events that are beyond their understanding. Symbolic play is a private world that is personal to the child where the rules of societal convention and the logic of the real world do not necessarily apply. From this view, symbolic play enables the child to be free from reality, allowing mental manipulations of objects and events. One cognitive benefit of symbolic play is the chance to

My niece, Arianna, plays house and has baby dolls. She pretends like she is a mother to her baby dolls. Even though this is make believe she is playing the role of a mother to her baby doll. This connects to Piaget’s developmental stage of preoperational because her thinking is not completely logical, but she knows that the baby is not actually real. I think that this is how most little

Mildred Parten and Jean Piaget are two theorists that have had great influences on the way we understand children. Piaget constructed the idea that a person’s thinking passes through four stages and as the person grows, their way of thinking changes thus entering a different stage. He emphasized mostly the preoperational stage, which is for ages two to seven years old. In this stage children are seen as illogical thinkers but they do engage in make-believe games by using objects for purposes other than their actual intended use. Between the ages of four and seven, they still do not think logically but they become interested in games that have rules, structure, and social interaction. Unlike Jean Piaget, Mildred Parten did not see types of

Early childhood is often characterized by endless make-believe and sociodramatic play which indicates the development of mental representation. Sociodramtic play differs from simple make-believe play in that it involves play with peers. This stage of play is often referred to as the Preoperational Stage. This is the stage immediately after Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage. The Preoperational Stage spans from two to about five or six years of age. At this stage, according to Piaget, children acquire skills in the area of mental imagery, and especially language. They are very self-oriented, and have an egocentric view; that is, preoperational children can use these representational skills only to view the world from their

Piaget believed everyone had to go through each stage of development. Although some kids may show characteristics of more than one stage at a time, he was certain that cognitive development always followed the sequence of the stages, stages cannot be skipped, and each stage is marked by new intellectual abilities and more complex understandings of the world. With this experiment I will prove how each toy can improve, or dismantle each stage for children. While in the toy store I watched how kids were interacting with one another, and how they handled some of the toys. Having, a niece, nephew, and Godson who are infants it was easier to find

The child I observed for the project was my five year old cousin. The activity I observed her doing is playing dress up. She likes to dress up as batgirl, wear capes, and dress up as Elsa from Frozen because they both have brown hair. This is a prime example Piaget’s preoperational state of cognitive development. This stage is described as when a child uses symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax and grammar to express full concepts. When she comes to our house she also enjoys riding her bike, coloring, playing games, and playing at the park. My mom helps her make homemade play doe; this allows her to learn how to make things. The combinations of those activities are good for intellectual, emotional, and physical growth.

Play is inevitable when it comes to children. Given the right environment and objects (of any sort), children will find a way to play. Jarvis, et al state that educators must offer inspiring, playful environments which include hands-on activities and interesting resources. This will empower children to educate themselves (2009). Along the same line, Wood and Attfield consider that an environment inclusive of varied resources will provide room for growth in their learning and will support the child’s “creativity, inventiveness and originally” (2005, p.231).

between a child's ability to play pretend and the positive development of the mind, especially in

Child development theories focus on explaining how children change and grow over the course of childhood. These such theories center on many different aspects of development, including social, emotional and cognitive growth. (Cherry, Kendra-website) Jean Piaget 's theory defines the cognitive development of children. Cognitive development embraces changes in cognitive process and abilities. In Piaget 's view, early cognitive development involves processes based upon actions and later progresses into changes in mental operations. During this stage, young children 's play becomes progressively imaginary and filled with fantasies. As children develop cognitively, their play will move from simple make-believe to plots involving more characters and scenarios, games with sophisticated rules, etc. (Early Childhood Development-website). According to Piaget, playing isn 't just fun; it is an important part of brain development (Early Childhood Development-website). All children develop at their own times, but if a caregiver notices that the child is not developing normally it is important to get it checked out as soon as it

Research, past and present, clearly points to the importance of play for the healthy and full development of the young child. Piaget theorized that a child's mental models, or cognitive structures, are based on the child's activities: engagement makes meaning. Many children today are not benefiting from a balance of intellect and imagination. Play is declining in our schools and preschools to meet the social